I got up relatively early (at least compared to most everyone else at the Jersey House) and, thanks to Jesse letting me borrow his car, I took care of laundry in the morning. The nearest laundromat was in the neighboring town of Newton, about a 20 minute drive away. This was easily the nicest laundromat I've been in so far; there was an attendant, the washers and dryers could take credit cards, and the attendant gave me free detergent (detergent is free for new customers).
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I was up pretty late last night, after midnight, waiting for Jesse and his wife Holly, and his brother Seth and his wife Michelle and their daughter Stella to arrive. As a result, I didn't get up until 9:30 this morning, the latest I've woken up on the trail.
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Today started off with a bit of oversleeping, and despite the threat of rain later today, I didn't leave the campsite until almost 8 am. Today's destination is a lake house in Branchville, NJ owned by my friend Jesse's parents. Normally, Jesse and several of us try to come up to the lake house (which we call the "Jersey House", for obvious reasons) sometime each summer for a weekend of relaxing, swimming in the lake, and going to yardsales. This weekend, the Fourth of July weekend, Jesse and his family would be at the Jersey House, making it perfect timing for a break. (A well-deserved break; today is 19 days since Harpers Ferry, the last time I took a zero.)
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Yesterday's 24.5 miles, my second-longest day to date, were not kind to my feet. Fortunately, today "only" required going 17.2 miles, and the trail was, in general, far nicer than it has been so far. I'm almost to New Jersey. That means the rocks are almost over, right? (Spoilers: no, it really does not.)
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After a large eggs and meat breakfast, with a fruit salad appetizer, Kathy shuttled me back to the trailhead, and I got going at 7:30. Today's goal would be to make up for lost time yesterday, with a 24.5 mile day to the Kirkridge Shelter.
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